The present invention relates to decontamination of delivered items to be sorted, such as mail, where there exists a possibility that biological or chemical contaminants may be introduced along with the items to be sorted. It finds particular application in combination with a two-part decontamination system in which the bulk of the items are subjected to a systematic ethylene oxide decontamination process, while the mail determined to be unsuited to ethylene oxide sterilization are treated with a hydrogen peroxide vapor.
Mail sorting facilities, at corporations that are potential terrorist threats or which handle large volumes of mail, face the concern that a letter or package containing a hazardous material, such as a pathogenic bacteria or chemical agent, could enter the facility along with the regular mail. It has been found that mail sorting equipment is capable of releasing spores of Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax, contained in sealed envelopes into the environment. Simply handling the mail, as in a human sorting operation, also often leads to the release of spores. The airborne spores contaminate other mail and also the sorting equipment, posing hazards both to workers in the sorting room and to mail recipients.
The spores tend to travel beyond the original mail sorting room into other parts of the facility, such as through air ducts, doors, and windows, risking contamination to large areas of the facility. A single contaminated letter is capable of infecting an entire facility. This results in a considerable loss in time while remediation is effected, in addition to the risks posed to workers in the facility.
Workers who sort and examine the mail also tend to contaminate clean areas of the facility when moving between “dirty” and “clean” areas.
The present invention provides a new and improved system and method of treatment of mail which overcome the above-referenced problems and others.